#FARALLONS TRAGEDY - A survivor of the tragedy described as San Francisco's worst ever sailing accident has written about his experiences, as the San Francisco Examiner reports.

Bryan Chong was one of three crewmembers, along with Nic Voss and skipper James Bradford, who were rescued from the rocks by the US Coast Guard after their 38-foot yacht Low Speed Chase ran aground at the Farallon Islands, some 25 miles off the coast of San Francisco in northern California.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Alan Cahill and Elmer Morrissey were among five declared dead after a marathon 30-hour search operation proved fruitless. The body of Marc Kasanin was the only lost sailor recovered.

In a full account to sailing website Latitude 38, Chong described seeing "the biggest swell" breaking over the boat as they rounded the islands during the traditional Full Crew Farallones Race, in which they were competing with 40 other yachts.

When the vessel resurfaced, the mast was snapped and only Chong and Voss were left on board. As they tried to help fellow crewmembers out of the water, a second wave hit that grounded the yacht on the rocks and threw Chong overboard.

“I couldn’t tell if I was in the water for a minute or an hour, but according to Nick it was about 15 minutes,” wrote Chong. “Those 15 minutes in the water were the absolute scariest in my life.”

He also hoped the tragedy would help improve on-deck safety, as the crew of the Low Speed Chase had not been using the boat's teathers at the time of the incident.

The San Francisco Examiner has more on the story HERE.

#MISSING SAILORS - The remnants of the yacht lost in San Francisco's worst ever sailing accident, which claimed the lives of two Irish sailors, have been salvaged from the Pacific Ocean.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Alan Cahill and Elmer Morrissey were among five declared dead after the 38-foot yacht Low Speed Chase ran aground at the Farallon Islands, some 25 miles off the coast of San Francisco in northern California.

The body of Marc Kasanin was recovered hours after the incident, but the remains of Cahill and Morrissey, and their crewmates Jordan Fromm and Alexis Busch, were never found.

The search for the missing yacht crew members ended on Sunday 15 April after a marathon 30-hour operation.

Three other crewmembers, including the boat's owner and skipper James Bradford, were rescued from the rocks shortly after the incident.

The boat had been competing in the Full Crew Farallones Race with 40 other yachts between San Francisco and the islands when the tragedy occurred.

A 'sky crane' helicopter equipped to lift marine salvage was employed to haul in the wreckage of the boat to shore, according to Larkspur-Corte Madera Patch.

The operation was completed just ahead of the nesting season on the islands, which host the largest seabird nesting colony south of Alaska.

"If we didn't do it within the next several days, we would have had to wait until probably October," said US Fish and Wildlife spokesman Doug Cordell.

Larkspur-Corte Madera Patch has much more on the story HERE.

#MISSING SAILORS - The US Coast Guard last night suspended its search for four yacht crew members - including two Irish sailors - who went missing after what's being described as San Francisco's worst ever sailing accident, Fox News reports.

Petty Officer Caleb Critchfield told the Associated Press: "There's a window of survivability and we searched well beyond that window."

Boats and aircraft had combed over 5,000 square miles of ocean in a marathon 30-hour operation before the search was halted at sunset last night. It is not expected to resume.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the missing include Irish yachtsmen Alan Cahill, originally from Blarney in Co Cork, and his friend Elmer Morrissey, who had moved to the US for work only last year, according to friends and colleagues on Facebook.

The two men, along with fellow crew Jordan Fromm, Alexis Busch and Marc Kasanin, were thrown into the frigid water after their 38-foot yacht Low Speed Chase ran aground at the Farallon Islands, some 25 miles off the coast of San Francisco in northern California.

Three other crewmembers, including the boat's owner and skipper James Bradford, were rescued from the rocks shortly after the incident. The body of Kasanin, 45, was recovered from the water hours later.

The boat had been competing in the Full Crew Farallones Race with 40 other yachts between San Francisco and the islands when the tragedy occurred.

Known for its rough conditions with 14-foot swells and winds of up to 20 knots, the near-century old tradition has "never been for the faint of heart".